Repeating arson, blackmail, kidnapping and threats to kill: Patterns of serious recidivists

The inter-relationships between serious types of crime has been neglected. Focusing on all those convicted of arson (N=46,144), blackmail (N=5,854), kidnapping (N=7,474) and threats to kill (N=9,976) between 1979 and 2001 in England and Wales, the paper focuses on those who have been convicted at least twice of one or more of these offences. These offenders are among those who represent a serious threat to public safety and their criminal histories will be probed to examine whether they are generalist or specialist offenders.